European Gaming Providers and Regulators Filing Lawsuits Against Greece

June 18th, 2013 by OBO-admin

Greek lawmakers have been criticized for over a year for the gambling regulations they passed. Many gaming providers have lost a considerable amount of revenue due as the laws OPAP create a monopoly.

Regulators and gaming providers throughout the European Union have tried encouraging the Hellenic Parliament to change their policies. The European Court of Justice ruled that the OPAP monopoly was illegal and insisted Greece change their laws. Gaming providers and regulators hoped that they would listen to the ruling, but lawmakers have shown no inclination to do so.

Stakeholders in other jurisdictions have grown increasingly impatient. They have filed lawsuits against Greece and hope that the country will finally reform its laws to promote free trade and break the monopolist stronghold of OPAP. The existing regulations allow OPAP to be Greece’s exclusive gaming provider until 2030. Some critics wrote in Ekathimerini that OPAP is making obscene amounts of money in the midst of a major economic depression.

The European Gaming and Betting Association and Remote Gambling Association were the first organizations to file a lawsuit this week. The lawsuit charges Greece of violating European Union laws by refusing to allow other providers to offer online gambling.

Private gaming providers have decided to begin litigation this week as well. Stanleybet, a popular online gaming provider in the United Kingdom, threatened to file a lawsuit on Wednesday. As spokesperson from Stanleybet said that Greek regulators turned down an online gaming application they filed in 2004.

They are seeking 240 million euros in damages. Greece’s finance minister has not commented on the pending lawsuit.

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Players Will Need to Continue Waiting for Remissions from Full Tilt

June 14th, 2013 by OBO-admin

Many players had their accounts frozen when they while they were playing at Full Tilt Poker before the company’s merger with PokerStars. PokerStars has assured regulators and former Full Tilt players that it wants to repay these remissions as soon as possible. However, players are becoming increasingly impatient as they are still waiting for their money after over a year and a half.

A former Full Tilt player recently published a thread updating people about the status on Two Plus Two. This player said that he has been in contact with Lorrie Stall, an employee with the Garden City Group (the claims administrator that was appointed by the Department of Justice). This player said that he sent Stall approximately 50 emails in the previous week seeking an update on his account.

Stall told him that the Garden City Group just received a lot of information from the Department of Justice. She didn’t elaborate much except to state that they were still in the process of helping players get their money back as soon as possible.

Pokerfuse.comrecently wrote that they had received an email from the Garden City Group stating the plans to help repay former players at Full Tilt. The company stated that they are working with the Asset Forfeiture of the United States Attorney General’s office to help resolve the matter. They will have to review the data from Full Tilt Poker to calculate how much money players are owed before they can start the remissions process. Full Tilt has provided a lot of data so it will take them time to complete their calculations.

Players on Two Plus Two were encouraged that the Garden City Group is trying to complete the process. However, many players also cautioned that a lot of work needs to be completed by the Department of Justice before players can be repaid. A tie-up on the DOJ’s end could tie up the entire remissions process.

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AACC Offers Live Dealer Courses

June 12th, 2013 by OBO-admin

Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) is giving a course called “Introduction to Casino Gambling,” the classroom of which resembles a tiny casino, complete with a craps table, a roulette wheel, and other games that one commonly sees in a casino. The course is meant to prepare students to work as live dealers in casinos and is being offered by the Hotel, Culinary Arts, and Tourism Institute of the AACC.

AACC had previously run a live dealer school from January to March to train 1,200 live dealers for Maryland Live Casino, which was planning to launch a wide range of table games in mid-April. While AACC delivered the training and presented the certificates, Maryland Live financed the course.

The school’s brochure quotes the US Bureau of Labor Statistics as predicting that the number of dealer jobs will rise by 17 percent within the next 5 – 6 years. The classes, which are held for four hours per day and four days per week, are monitored by Maryland Live.

Hotel, Culinary Arts, and Tourism Institute Director Mary Ellen Mason said that Maryland Live and AACC got into a partnership long before the casino was constructed. AACC also supplies culinary facilities for the final Suisse chef testing at Maryland Live.

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Reasons for the Fall of Revel Casino

June 12th, 2013 by OBO-admin

When Revel, the last land casino to be constructed in Atlantic City, was launched one year ago, its future appeared to be bright. It was also widely believed that Revel will turn out to be a major competitor for the smaller casinos in Atlantic City, all of which were struggling to generate revenue.

Unfortunately, Revel did not turn out to be a major success. As far as revenue generation is concerned, its position in the list of all 12 Atlantic City casinos was 11; and now the company has declared itself bankrupt.

One of the major causes for the fall of Revel Casino was considered to be the state’s flailing economy. The economic recession hit the state hard shortly after the casino construction work began. In 2010, Morgan Stanley, one of the major supporters of the project, withdrew his financial support, leading to a loss of $1 billion and hindering further construction work. Ultimately, it was Governor Chris Christie who rushed to the casino’s rescue by offering tax incentives worth $260 million to financers willing to support the project.

The Revel fell because it does not have a gaming space where smoking is permitted and cheap buffet options, the two major features that attract gamblers to Atlantic City.

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Illinois Governor Feels Online Gambling Needs to Take Back Burner to Pension Reform

June 12th, 2013 by OBO-admin

Illinois lawmakers are working on a new bill to legalize online gambling. They have been trying to convince Governor Pat Quinn that the new bill would carry a number of benefits for the state’s economy and offer protections to Illinois citizens. Quinn has been skeptical about legalizing online gambling, but said he isn’t outright opposed to doing so. However, he has stated that legalizing online gambling is not a top priority this year.

Over the past several months Quinn has said that pension reform is more important than online gambling. However, he was more candid about his position late last week. Quinn said that he would not consider passing an online gambling bill until pension reform was addressed.

Senate President John Cullerton has recently backed a new pension reform bill that would save the state $50 billion. Many lawmakers feel his bill is a good start, but the state would still fall short by about $100 billion of the amount they need to meet their obligations. Quinn has raised concerns with the bill, but hasn’t stated whether he will formally veto it.

This new announcement is discouraging for online gaming advocates in Illinois. They may need to wait for Cullerton to make revisions to his proposal or another lawmakers to draft another solution. However, they are encouraged that lawmakers are finally discussing what steps they must take to legalize online gambling.

Cullerton is started on a separate online gambling bill at the beginning of the month. He probably won’t be able to introduce this bill until pension reform has been adequately addressed. However, he is expected to continue working on it while discussing pension reform strategies with Quinn and other lawmakers.

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UK Select Committee Approves Online Gambling Bill

May 20th, 2013 by OBO-admin

Lawmakers in the United Kingdom are currently considering a new bill that would change the tax code for online gambling. The Select Committee from the Department of Culture Media and Sports approved the bill earlier this week. The bill has been forwarded to the legislature and a vote is expected later this month. However, some details of the bill may be changed in the coming months.

The new bill would impose a 15% Point of Consumption tax on all forms of online gambling. The current law only imposes a tax on gaming providers that are based in the United Kingdom. The new tax code would force all gaming companies to pay the tax when they serve UK citizens, regardless of where their company is based. This change would discourage gaming providers from moving their operations overseas to avoid the tax. The online gambling industry has raised concerns with the rate that is going to be imposed.

Many experts have cautioned that the current tax may be too high to create a sustainable online gambling industry. The committee published another report last summer which claimed that the 15% POC tax could force nearly half of online gaming providers to leave the market.

The committee is also concerned that the tax may discourage players from using the regulated gaming sites and turn to underground sites instead. They have suggested that the Treasury review the tax and consider reducing it.

Although the POC tax has created some concerns with the DCMS, the general public is pleased that the government is finally making progress on reforming online gambling and allowing

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